Bhavsar’s Herbal Smoking Device – Nirdosh

Case Summary
The case is centered on unique herbal smoking device named “Nirdosh” developed by Mr. Natvarlal
Bhavsar, owner of Maans Products, Ahmedabad. Till 1970, primary business of Maans Products was
manufacturing and marketing biris. Idea of producing herbal smoking device was struck off when Mr.
Natvarlal was asked by some Vaidya to roll ayurvedic material in the form of Beedi. From then onward,
he got deeply involved in developing and promoting this idea of herbal smoking device – Nirdosh.

The case delineates the challenges faced in different stages such as product development,
manufacturing and packing, promoting and marketing, and publicity. Different exhibits in the case give
information regarding raw materials, pack size, picture on the pack, instruction booklet inside the pack,
and numerical data on consumption and production patterns of cigarette manufacturers in India.

Mr. Bhavsar promoted Nirdosh in the initial years by distributing free samples and garnering feedback to
improvise. The pack insert was prepared considering this feedback. Positioning of Nirdosh was an
important decision for Maans Products because that decides the market opportunity for the product
Nirdosh. If positioned as a remedy to stop smoking, market was very large. On the other hand,
positioning of product as health remedy changed market opportunity significantly.

The case also describes various decisions taken for sales and distribution arrangements, publicity and
overall expenditure on these activities. Finally the case ends with the mention of effort towards large
scale production and tapping of international markets.